Improvement in sheet-metal cans



NITED STATES HERRMAN l\IILLER,OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN SHEET-METLJCANS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38.974, dated June 23,1863.

To all w/tom/ t may concern:

Be it known that I, HEREMAN MILLER, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cans and otherVessels of Sheet Metal; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in whichpt Figure l is a vertical section of a can constructed according to myinvention. Fig. 2 is a -top view of the same. Fig. 3 is a verticalsection of the lower part of the eanand of a pan containing meltedsolder, illustrating the mode of soldering on the bottom. Fig. 4 is avertical section of the lower part of the side of the can. Fig. 5 is avertical section of the marginal portion of the bottom, showing its formbefore it is put on.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

rIhis invention relates to cans, pails, and other vessels made oftin-plate or other sheet metal with soldered joints. Its object istwofold-viz., first, to obtain such strength and stiffness at thejunction of the sides with the top and bottom that they will-not beeasily bruised; and, secondly, to-provide for the soldering on of thetop and bottom by dippingthe joint into a vessel containing meltedsolder, whereby the operation of soldering is not only enabled to beperformed more quickly than in the usual way by a soldering-iron, butwith a much smaller quantity of solder; and it consists in forming thejunction or l union between the sides and the top and bot tom of thevessel .by means of the double recessed clamping lapjoint hereinafterdescribed.

A A are the sides, B the bottom, and O the top, of the can. The sides AA have angular grooves or recesses a a, Figs. 1, 3, and 4, formed allalong their exteriors, immediately above the lower and below the upperedges, the inner angles or backs of the said recesses being at about aquarter of an inch above the lower and below the upper edges. The topand bottom plates, B and C, are made as much larger than the intendedsize of the top and bottom of the can as is necessary to form all roundthem a single lap, b, of a depth to la'p over the upperA and lower edgesof the sides A A as far or nearly as far as the inner angles of therecesses e a; but the lapping portions b b, before the top and bottomplates are put on, are only turned up as a right angle, as shown in Fig.5, and within the said lapping portions there are formed in the saidplates B and C wide recesses c c, of which the portions immediatelyinside of the laps b b are inclined to fit to the inclined marginalsurfaces which are producedin the interiors of the sides A Aby theangular formation of the recesses a a. A

The sides and the top and bottom plates having been formed as -abovedescribed, the

top and bottom are put on and the laps b b are turned inward over theupper and lower edges of the sides A A with a suitable tool, and thesaid laps and the recessed portions of the top, and bottomplatesimmediately within the laps are clamped tightly upon the inner andouter surfaces of the marginal portions of the top and bottom in suchmanner (shown in Figs. l and 3) as to make a nearly tight joint, whichwill require very little solder to complete it.

The soldering is performed by dipping the joint into a pan, D, Fig. 3,of melted solder, such pan being so formed as to contain the solder in anarrow'channel, d, which is not much wider than is necessary to receivethe joint, and which prevents any other portion of the bottom but thatin immediate proximity to the joint from touching the solder, and inthis way the joint is formed with the least possible quantity of solder,much less than would be required in the use of a solderingiron in thecommon way of soldering tinware.

An important feature of this joint is that it does not project eitherlaterally beyond the sides or vertically beyond the top or bottom of thevessel, and consequently does not interfere with the packing together ofa number of vessels.-

The drawings represent the application of my invention to a canof squareform 5 but it is applicable with equal advantage to cans or pails ofcircular or other form. Y

What I claim as my invention ,and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

Forming the junction or union between the sides and the top or bottom ofa can or other vessel made of sheet metal by means of the doublerecessed clamping lap-joint herein described.

Witnesses: HERRMAN MILLER.

G. W. REED, J. W. OooMB's.

